City Of Portland: **MAJOR TRAFFIC ALERT** Preble Street At Baxter Boulevard Traffic Impacts Begin June 7

Press release from the City of Portland:

June 7, 2021

Preble Street at Baxter Boulevard Traffic Impacts

Begin June 7

Construction work is part of Back Cove sewer separation project

PORTLAND, Maine -- The ongoing work on Preble Street will move into the intersection of Baxter Boulevard beginning June 7th.  Access to northbound Baxter Boulevard will be restricted.   A detour will be established sending traffic to Forest Avenue.  Baxter Boulevard southbound will be detoured at Dartmouth Street sending traffic up to Forest Avenue.

Barricades and detour signs will be set up directing traffic.

These closures are part of the City’s Back Cove South Storage Facility Project, and are necessary in order to connect the existing utilities within the intersection of Marginal Way and Franklin Street to the new storage tanks under the Preble Street playing fields. 

These closures are part of the City’s Back Cove South Storage Facility Project, and are necessary in order to 

The project is one of the City’s latest sewer separation projects to prevent combined sewer overflows into Back Cove. The work to reduce overflows is part of the City’s agreement with the U.S. EPA to reduce and eliminate the flow of combined waste being discharged. A combined sewer system transports wastewater from home, industries, and businesses, as well as storm water collected from streets, parking lots, roofs, and yards to the East End Wastewater Treatment Plant. A combined sewer overflow occurs when the combined sewer capacity is overwhelmed during heavy rain events and a mix of sewer and storm water is discharged into Back Cove. 

The Department of Public Works has been coordinating with the prime contractor, Sargent Corporation, and the Maine Department of Transportation to put forth a sequencing and staging plan as part of a traffic control plan to minimize the impacts to the traveling public. Work Should be completed by June 15th, 2021.

The project schedule and related graphics can be found on the Public Works website.

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This press release was produced by the City of Portland. The views expressed here are the author’s own.